World War 1 Flashcards
what were the long term causes of the war?
Militarism
Alliances
Imperialism
Nationalism
What is the assassination described as?
The spark that ignited the first world war
define militarism
an ideology that glorifies military ideals and culture and advocates the necessity to have strong-armed forces and to use them to win political or economic advantages
define nationalism
Nationalism: a strong identification with others who share a common language and heritage and a belief that the interests of one’s state are of primary importance
define imperialism
the activity and ideology of empire building; in order to further political powers and the resources of another nation. It is a system in which a country rules over other countries sometimes using force to gain control over them.
What was the arms race?
All the major powers were trying to build up their armies
The armaments race both resulted from, and further heightened, tensions among all of the great powers leading up to war
The armaments race accelerated leading up to the war
Militarism outline:
Each of the great powers of Europe adopted a militaristic approach to the world
Vast sums of money were expended by the ruling elites if the great powers to build massive military capabilities that far exceeded the needs of the pure defence
What were the main military fears leading up to the war?
Germany’s fears of increases in russian armaments and british fear of naval brigade contributed heavily to the cause of war
Industrial revolution effect on militarism:
new weapons produced during the industrial revolution in the late 1800’s heightened existing tensions among european nations as they strove to technologically outpace their enemies
When did militarism start speeding up and why?
From 1900 the world witness an unprecedented build-up of armed forces by the great powers as they sought to maximise their geopolitical clout and relieve their anxieties about future threats to their regimes
Militarisma nd masculinity:
War was regarded as the ultimate test of masculinity. This viewpoint was promoted by the education system, press, propaganda and politicians
Franco Prussian war
Prussian victory over France in the Franco-Prussian war in 1871 and the subsequent formation of the German empire made Germany the dominant power in Europe
What was Germanys mainconcern leading up to the war?
The German chancellor saw the answer to protecting it from challenges from France and maintaining a power position was through isolating France and ensuring it has no allies
It was aware it would otherwise fight on two fronts
Who were the great powers?
The Five great powers: Germany, Russia, Britain, France and Austria-Hungary
Which alliance fell through before the war?
Germany formed an alliance with Russia and Austria- Hungary in order to protect itself from fighting on two fronts, however, the issues in the Balkan region created further problems
Why did the alliance bwteen germany, russia and Austria-Hungary fail?
Austria-Hungary and Russia were both competing for the Balkan states and Austria-Hungary was ready to go to war with Russia over this area
Bismark now had to mediate between his allies, with Russia having to surrender territory
The establishment of Serbia, handover of turkish territories to Austria-Hungary created tension
There was growing resentfulness and suspicion from Russia towards German policy
WHo were the alliances in ww1?
Austria-Hungary, Germany and italy were the central alliance
France, Britannia dn Russia were the Triple Entente
Summary of alliances as cause for war:
As a result of these alliances, the spark that ignited the war drew all great powers into the war
Imperialism in 1500’s
since the 1500’s european nations were spreading and discovering and colonising new lands
why were countries spreading their empires?
Over the next few centuries these powers built extensive empire and built up trade networks to acquire materials to enrich their own colonies
Industrialisation effect on imperialism
The industrial evolution further enhanced European domination transferring them from agrarian to manufacturing economies
What happened around the 19th century in terms of imperialism?
Control tightened around the 19th century and the empires became caught up in the race for the empire
The formation of italy and germany in 1871 intensified this, both nations felt nationalism and wanted to spread their power and fuel their economies
The scramble for africa was a result of this new period of imperialism
why did wars occur as a result of imperialism?
In the quest to build empires the imperial powers commonly came into conflict, many wars occurred as a result of this intense political rivalry
Nationalism and problems in the Balkans
there were people who possessed a common language and tradition but did not reside in nation states with defined borders. These people were frustrated in their nationalistic fevour
Most of the Balkans (south-east of Europe) fell into this category of frustrated nationalism because many of the ethnic groups did not rule themselves here
nationalism in the Balkans summary
Consequently, the Balkans were a dangerous mix of frustrated nationalism and geopolitical rivalry and were an unending source of concern for the rest of Europe
who was assasinated?
Archduke Franz Ferdinand
who killed him?
Serbian Gavrilo Princip of the Black hand terrorist group killed him in Bosnia
Assassination implications:
Austria-Hungary used this as an excuse to invade Serbia and was backed by Germany
Russia then became involved and as a result so did France
With Germany threatening to go through the neutral Belgium drew Britain into the war and consequently all of its colonies
Belgium and Britain alliance
On August 4, Britain declared war after Germany had invaded neutral Belgium
The British Government had previously promised to defend Belgium and felt that German troops directly across the Channel were too close for comfort.
On 7 August, four divisions making up a British Expeditionary Force crossed to France to attempt to halt the German advance.
With French forces, they were successful in achieving their objective at the Battle of Mons (August) and the Battle of the Marne (September).
when did britain declar war on germany
august 4
what day did ww1 start?
28 Jul 1914
what day did ww1 end
11 Nov 1918
Race to the sea
After both the French and German troop movements halted, the two armies engaged in a series of outflanking manoeuvres, made more urgent by the strategic need to capture crucial channel ports on the French and Belgian coastline, for resupply in the event of a drawn-out war.
This period from October to 17 November involved heavy fighting, particularly the First Battle of Ypres in Belgium
Western front:
The western front was 400+ miles long which weaved its way through France and BElgium, from the Swiss border to the North sea, it was the decisive front during WW1
Eastern Front:
The Eastern front stretched from the Baltic sea in the north to the black sea in the south. It included Eastern Europe and stretched into Central Europe. In area, it was much larger than the western front.
fighting on the eastern front
Germany’s resistance was rushed but effective
By 1915 Germany was moving into Russia and russian troops suffered defeats in 1915 and 1916
In 1917 the Tsar abdicated and bolsheviks seized power
The spread out nature of the Eastern front meant that trenches were largely ineffective, and it was the mobility and training of the German troops that proved to be decisive
By March, 1918, German troops were within striking distance of the Russian Capital, Petrograd, and the Bolsheviks concluded the treaty of Brest-Litovsk that withdrew Russia from the war and ended the war on the Eastern Front
what was the schlieffen plan?
Designed to allow the Germans to fight a war on two fronts
Did the schiefflen plan change?
However, the Germans faced difficulties and were not able to execute it as expected:
They faced resistance from belgium
Both Britain and Russia mobilised quicker than expected
As a result of the above setbacks they shortened their curve and were not able to wrap around to Paris. They also placed less troops than they had originally planned.
Causes of it being a global war
imperialism, alliances and industrialisation
what is total war
Total War is the heavy involvement and coordination of civilians in contributing to the war effort.
The notion that a nation’s entire social, political and economic structures should be devoted to the war effort.
In a total war the role of the home front can prove as decisive as victories on the battlefield.
End of empire
the collapse of the great empires that had dominated the 19th century
After the war Russia lost much of its European empire, including Poland and the Baltic States
The Austro-Hungarian Empire ceased to exist as new states were created and others gained more land (Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia)
Germany lost about 13% of its territory. Its imperial possessions were taken from it and given to various powers, including Britain, Japan and Australia.
The Ottoman Empire collapsed and evolved into the modern state of Turkey
‘war to end all wars’
This was a phrase that Wilson used to describe the catastrophic destruction and loss of life that WW1 brought about and his desire to establish a new system of international relations to prevent future conflicts.
Immediate Legacy
Destruction, chaos, confusion, hatred, fear, casualties and death
Up to 25 million dead, countless millions injured or suffering from psychological trauma
Millions of refugees and tens of thousands of prisoners to be repatriated
Starvation and disease
Germany – months before food and medical supplies entered the country. Political violence from the left and right.
North Eastern France and Belgium had been devastated.
The German economy had collapsed, Britain and France faced mass unemployment, were deeply in debt and had lost valuable export markets to Japan and the US. Postwar economic cooperation was unlikely in the face of French demands for revenge and reparations.
Fear of communism grew after the revolution in Russia
when was the Paris Peace Conference?
The conference lasted from January 1919 to January 1920
The Paris Peace Conference
The Paris Peace Conference, was the meeting that inaugurated the international settlement after WW1.
32 nations were present but proceedings were dominated by those who became known as the “Big Three” – US President Woodrow Wilson, French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau, British Prime Minister David Lloyd George.
There were five treaties that were signed. They were named after the area in which they were signed.
The Treaty of Versailles was signed with Germany on the 28th June 1919
Germany was not allowed to participate in the negotiations
The treaty of versailed
signed with Germany on the 28th June 1919
-created great tensions to cause ww2
Clemenceau goals
Hated Germany, wanted to protect France from any subsequent attack
Wanted to break the German war machine
Realist – aware of the importance of politics – experienced
